Obituary
Kenzie Baird
Kenzie Keith Baird, pilot, boat builder, story teller and singer of songs, age 99, and longtime resident of Flippin, passed away Wednesday, October 25, 2017 in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
He was born to George H. Baird and Leah India Baird on September 4, 1918 in Opolis, Kansas. Kenzie graduated from high school in Columbus, Kansas and obtained his student's pilot certificate at the age of eighteen. He went on to obtain his commercial pilot's license and studied and flew aircraft throughout his life. He loved flying and airplanes. He told many about growing up in Kansas including the dangers of installing wind charger towers on the windy Kansas plains and escapades with his dog Clinch.
Kenzie served in the Navy during World War II in the Philippines - another source of many humorous stories. After the war, he worked as a model builder for Consolidated Aircraft in San Diego, California. In the mid-1950's Kenzie and his wife Annie moved to Flippin where he introduced fiberglass boat building into the north central Arkansas area when he started building Kenzie Kraft fiberglass boats. He retired in his mid-50s thinking he would probably die young as his father and brother had. His longevity gave him great pleasure because he felt he was beating the odds and beating the system.
He is survived by his nieces and nephews Victoria Mitchel, Randall Baird, Martha Head, Jimmy Moore, Tommy Carroll, and Bill Johnson.
Kenzie was preceded in death by his father George, his mother Leah, his brother Byron Owsley Baird, and his wife Annie.
Kenzie will be missed, but our memories of his stories and his quick wit will still be with us.
A graveside service will be 2:00 pm Thursday, November 2, 2017 at Flippin Cemetery in Flippin, Arkansas with Bro. Terry Frizzell officiating.
Published in Baxter Bulletin on Oct. 31, 2017
Family Members
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Leah India Scovell Baird
1889–1969
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Annie E Baird
1912–1998
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Byron Owsley Baird
1915–1977
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